If you live in South Florida, the black military helicopters buzzing over your city were not in your imagination — regardless of what the increasingly discredited establishment press has been claiming for years. A controversial military training drill took place last week in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that spooked more than a few residents, as well as analysts. Featuring Special Forces from various branches of the military working with local law enforcement, the drill involved, among other elements, rounding up civilians. And now, the training is coming under fire from locals and national media commentators as everything from an inconvenience and safety hazard to an ominous sign of trouble to come.

A massive U.S. military drill dubbed “Jade Helm 15” lists Texas, Utah, and part of California as “hostile” or “insurgent pocket” territory. The unclassified information about this drill is causing widespread alarm nationwide, with more than a few analysts suggesting it may be some sort of exercise practicing to impose martial law on Americans fed up with an out-of-control federal government. During the exercises, which will take place over the summer, Special Forces from various branches of the military will work with local law-enforcement in scenarios that, to critics at least, sound suspiciously like they are aimed at subduing rebellious American civilians and states amid a civil war or large-scale unrest. The federal government issued a response dismissing the concerns and saying that the training is to help U.S. forces prepare for overseas missions, but not everyone is convinced.

Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced a bill on Thursday that would end the Washington, D.C., council’s ongoing war against guns by removing their authority to make and enforce anti-gun laws altogether.